Device for handling pipes



Oct. 28, 1952 M. E. TRUE 2,615,681

DEVICE FOR HANDLING PIPES Filed March 27, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l lnvll'ron.

Martin E. True,

A0 IT- Oct. 28, 1952 M. E. TRUE 2,615,681

DEVICE FOR HANDLING PIPES Filed March 27, 1950 I s Sheets-Sheet z 8 ll!!! x522? "J E g n In I r H p u vunon. Martin E..True

'l y I i i a g A:

AOIIL Patented Oct. 28, 1952 DEVICE FOR HANDLING PIPES Martin E. True, Houston, Tex., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Standard Oil Development Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application March 27, 1950, Serial No. 152,130

2 Claims.

The present invention is directed to apparatus for handling pipe. More particularly the invention has to do with handling vertical stands of pipe either coming out ofor going into a borehole in the earth.

It is common to employ tonging and spinning means for making up and breaking out stands of pipe from a length of pipe in a borehole. The apparatus of the prior art have employed separate pieces of equipment whichwere cumber some and dangerous to the workers handling the pipe. Furthermore. the prior art equipment causes the workman to expose himself to movement of heavy equipment and to whipping back and forth of spinning chains which frequently are hazardous to life and limb.

It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide improved apparatus for handling vertical stands of pipe with minimum effort and exposure to manpower.

Another object of the present invention is to provide integral pipe handling equipment for removing from or adding to lengths of pipe to a string of pipe in a borehole.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide efficient equipment for conducting operations mechanically which heretofore were performed manually. V g

The apparatus of the present invention may be described briefly as involving a carriage which is adapted for movement on a trackway which is mounted on the floor of a derrick. Pivotably attached to the carriage is a housing member in which is arranged a tonging means and a spinning means. The carriage and the housing define corresponding slotted openings to allow the carriage to move up to and around a vertical stand of pipe. The slotted opening of the carriage has built thereinto a back-up tong, while the make-up tongs are located adjacent the slotted opening of the housing and the spinning means are arranged above the make-up tongs. Carried by the housing is an extensible and retractable arm carryingon a free end thereof a hook which is adapted to grasp and release a vertical stand of pipe. The arm moves perpendicular to the movement of the carriage and housing and is mounted above and slightly ahead of the housing to allow grasping and releasing of stands of pipe. Arranged between the carriage and the housing is a slidable plate which is adapted to move along an axis substantially parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the carriage, the purpose of the slidable plate being to act asa rest for a pipe stand when it is lifted out of the box on 2 the housing pivoting upwardly. The device of the present invention is provided with power means for moving the carriage along the track, power means for actuating the back-up and make-up tongs and power means for actuating the spinning means and the extensible and retractable arm as well as the hook thereon. The apparatus of the present invention also includes means for stopping the travel of the slidable plate at predetermined points.

The present invention will be further described its relationship to an'elevated pipe rack;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device of the present invention, the dotted lines showing a stand of pipe being supported by the plate ahead of the housing; I

Fig. 3 is a detail of the spinning means of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail of the tongs embodied in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig- 5 is a further detail of a portion of the tong of Fig. 4;.

Fig. 6 is a 'detail of the hydraulic mechanism for operating the tong of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a detail side view' with parts cut away of the carriage of Fig. 2 showing the arrangement of the slidable plate and the stopping means;

\ Fig. 8 is a top sectional view or the carriage of Figs. 1 and 2 showing the slotted portion thereof and the arrangementof the back-up tongs;

Fig. 9 is a top fragmentary view of the bifzigrcated portion 2'! of the carriage and the plate Fig. 10 is a view of the valve of Fig. 7; and V Fig. llshows an alternative embodiment of a carriage and track assembly to that of Fig. 2.

In the several figures of the drawings identical numeralswill be employed to designate corresponding parts.

Referring now to the drawing, numeral ll designates a housing which is pivotally attached at pin [2 to a carriage, it which is arranged on flange wheels M to travel on'a trackway l5 which is adapted to'be mounted on the floor of the derrick Carriage I3 is attached by attachment means It to an externally .threaded member ll which is journaled in journaling means iii. A rotating nut 19 is carried by member ll arranged on or adjacent track I5 and carries a pulley 2| on shaft 22. A chain or belt 23 transmits power from pulley 2| to rotating nut I9 and causes carriage I3 to be moved back and forward along trackway I5 depending on the direction of rotation of the shaft 22 of motor 20.

The housing II is supported on carriage I3 by a protuberance above the carriage I3 sufficient to allow movement therebetween of a slidable plate 25 as will be described further.

The housing II is constructed to define thereby a bifurcated portion 25a which is adapted to embrace a stand of pipe 26. Similarly carriage I3 also defines with the free end thereof a similar bifurcated portion 21 in which is arranged a back-up tong which will be described further. The bifurcated portion 25a of housing II is provided with a projection 28 which carries an extensible and retractable arm 29 which in turn carries on a free end thereof a hook 30 which is adapted to grasp and release vertical stands of pipe. The arm 29 may be extended and retracted in a derrick perpendicular to the direction of travel of the housing I l and carriage I3 by power means 3I arranged on projection 28 and rotating nut 32 which is provided with internal screw threads to mesh with external screw threads of arm 29. A drive means such as a belt or chain 33 causes the arm 29 to be extended or retracted depending on the direction of travel of the power means 3I. The hook 39 is provided with a fixed member and a movable member, the movable member being actuated by admission of a hydraulic fluid to an internal channel defined by arm 29 and communicating with actuating devices in hook 38. Hydraulic fluid may be admitted to the internal channel of arm 2 9 by a conduit 34 attached by coupling means 35 and allowing arm 29 to communicate with a source of hydraulic fluid not shown. Details of the apparatus and the operation thereof of arm 29 and hook 30, as well as the auxiliary elevator used therewith, may be found in pending applications U. S. Ser. No. 5,843 filed February 2, 1948, entitled Apparatus for Racking Pipe in a Derrick, U. S. Ser. No. 98,250 filed June 10, 1949, entitled Pipe Racking Apparatus, U. S. Ser. No. 98,740 filed June 13, 1949, entitled Improved Apparatus for Moving Pipe, and U. S. Ser. No. 99,165 filed June 15, 1949, entitled Apparatus for Handling Pipe, all in thename of Albert L. Stone.

Arranged in the bifurcated portion 25a of housing II is a spinning means and a tonging means, the spinning means being arranged above the tonging means. The tonging means are shown in detail in Fig. 4 and embodies a tong 36 which is attached by a pin 31 to a piston arm 38 which moves in a piston cylinder 39,. An opening 40 in bifurcated member 25a provides for a movement of tong 36. Tong 36 is provided with dual jaws 4| which are adapted to bite into tool joint 65 of pipe stand 26 on actuation of the jaws by admission of hydraulic fiuid to internal piston chambers 42, only one of which is shown in Fig. 4 for reasons of simplicity and briefness of the description. Jaw M is attached by a piston arm 43 to piston 44.

In Fig. 6 an arrangement is shown for admission of hydraulic fluid to piston 42 by conduit 45 controlled by valve 46 which connects to a source of hydraulic fluid not shown. When it is desired to actuate either of the jaws 4I hydraulic fluid would be admitted to cylinder 42 caus- .4 being sealed by a seal ring 48. Release of pressure causes release of jaw 4| and allows the piston to be returned to the neutral position by the force of spring 41. The tong 36 is provided with a projecting shoulder 49 which is adapted to fit into an opening in the bifurcated portion 25a.

The spinning means is arranged above tonging means 36 in bifurcated portion 25a and is shown in detail in Fig. 3. The spinning means includes a power means 50 arranged on a plate 5I in housing I I which is slidable thereon and is spring loaded by springs 52 which are attached to the housing II and to plate 58 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The spinning means includes a continuous belt or spinning chain or metallic member 53 which is adapted to fit around pipe stand 26 as shown in Fig. 3. Supplying tension on the spinning means 53 are rollers 54 carried on eccentric arms 55 which are pivoted at pins 56 to the bifurcated member 25a. Connecting to and actuating arms 55 is a piston cylinder assembly 51 which connects to arms 55 at points 58. The piston cylinder assembly 5'! is provided with conduits 59 for admission of hydraulic fluid thereto. The spinning means include a stop member 60 to limit the travel of the motor plate 5| As described before, the carriage I3 has arranged to slide thereon a slidable plate 25. This plate is arranged between housing II and carriage I3 and is connected by an attachment III to piston arm 'II which is connected to a piston in a piston cylinder 72; the latter is arranged on and fixed to the carriage II. A pin I3 attaching the piston arm II to the plate 25 travels in a slot I4 in carriage I3. Carriage I3 is provided with springs I5 resting in depressions I6 and attached to carriage I3 by nuts 'I'I. At a free end thereof of carriage I3 is a stop member I8 pivoted by pin I9 on an arm attached to carriage I3. The stop member I8 is arranged in operating relationship to a plunger 8I journaled in journaling means 82 which will close a Valve 83 attached to the underneath of carriage I3. A second valve 84 is attached to carriage I3 and is provided with a roller plunger 85 which is in operative relationship with plate 25. A conduit 86 controlled by a valve 81 admits air or other hydraulic fluid to valve 83 and thence by conduit 38 to valve 84 and thence by conduit 89 to pisston cylinder I2 while air or other hydraulic fluid is admitted to the other end of cylinder I2 by conduit 90 controlled by valve 9i.

In Fig. 2 the device of the present invention is shown arranged around pipe stand 26 above rotary table I60 in operative relationship to the vertical stand of pipe as will be described.

Referring to Fig. 11 the carriage I3 may be modified to the extent that the flanged wheels I4 are replaced by a. shoe IIII which rests in a bed or a fiat track member I62 which is provided with shoulders I03 and provides a fixed support for the carriage I3. The embodiment of Fig. 11 may be used in lieu of the flanged wheels I4 of Fig. 2.

In the bifurcated portion 21 of carriage I3 are arranged back-up tongs 36a identical to makeup or break-out tongs 36 with the exception that in the back-up tongs the jaws 4I work in a fixed housing. Stating this otherwise, the purpose of the back-up tongs 36a is merely to hold the the break-out or make-up. tongs 36 furtherde- The apparatus of the present invention is caused to operate by moving the carriage I3 up a to a stand of pipe 26 in the rotary table I; as the bifurcated portions-21 of carriage I3 and 25a. of housing II embrace the-external periphery of the pipe stand 26, the jaws 4I oi the back-up tongs 36a and the break-up or make-up tongs 36 are in operative relationship. By admitting hydraulic fluid in the pistons 42 the jaws 4I bite into the external surface of the pipe 26 and hold it rigidly. Then by admitting hydraulic fluid through conduits I04 to piston cylinder 39 torque is applied to break-out or make-up tong 36 which breaks the connection of the pipe stand 26 at the tool joint 65. Hydraulic fluid is then admitted to conduit 86 by manipulation of valve 81 which allows the air or hydraulic fluid to travel through conduit 83, through valve 83, thence through conduit 88, valve 84 and conduit 39 actuating the piston in cylinder I2 and causing the plate 25 to move forward alongan axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of carriage I3. At the same time hydraulic fluid is introduced into a piston cylinder I05 by conduit I06 to cause piston I01 to force an arm I08 upward which in turn causes the housing II to pivot upwardly on pivot point I2 thus raising the disconnected portion of pipe stand 25 at tool a joint 65 lifting the pin I out of the box I2I. As plate moves along an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of carriage I3 it encounters springs I5 which raise it slightly, which in turn lifts the plate off of the roller plunger 85 of valve 64. This stops the travel of plate 25 underneath the pin I20 of pipe stand 26. Release of hydraulic fluid to cylinder 42 of the break-out or make-up tong 36 allows the disconnected pipe stand 26 to rest on plate 25, the weight thereof in turn depresses the plate 25 on spring 15 and again allows actuation of valve 84 by roller plunger 85 which admits air or hydraulic fluid to cylinder 12 and causes the plate to travel outward as indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 7 until it reaches stop member I3 which limits the travel of the plate 15 as will be described further.

Prior to the tonging and spinning operations the derrick man in the top of the derrick has been attaching an auxiliary elevator not shown but described in the pending applications of Stone supra and used in conjunction with the grab hook assembly referred to before. The disconnected pipe stand is now in position to be grasped by the hook which is moved up to and around the pipe stand 26 by causing motor 3I to operate which rotates drive nut 32. As the hook 30 moves around the pipe hydraulic fluid is introduced by conduit 34 which causes the hook 30 to operate and grasp the pipe firmly. The motor 20 of carriage I3 is then caused to operate to withdraw the disconnected pipe stand 26 from the locus of the rotary table I00. The whole assembly including housing II and carriage I3 carrying pipe stand 26 moves backward until the hook 30 grasping the pipe is adjacent the elevated pipe rack I30 which may be provided with a steel mat. The hook 30 then is caused to operate again in conjunction with the auxiliary elevator which carries the load of the pipe stand 26, moves the disconnected pipe stand into racking position on the elevated pipe rack 30. The racking arm 29 and hook assembly 30 may then be moved out of position and back into inoperative position as shown in Fig. 1 by reversing the direction of travel of motor 3I and finally stopping itin the desired position.

The foregoing operation describesthe'rernoval v of pipe from a borehole. When returning pipe to a borehole the operations would be reversed, the arm 29 carrying the hook assembly 30 would rack I30. Meanwhile the derrick man wouldattach the auxiliary elevators and allow the arm 29 and hook 30 to move thestand of pipe 26 over into stabbing position. As the pin I20 of tool joint 65 would be stabbed into box I 2| the pipe would then be spun up by actuation of the spinner moving in a reverse direction to that described in the spinning out operation. The tongs 36 and 36a, i. e. the break-out and makeup tongs in cooperation with the back-up tongs,

would then be actuated to allow the jaws 4I to bite into the pipe and torque thereon would then be exerted through actuation of arm-'38 by admission of hydraulic fluid to cylinder 39.

Thelarge elevators would then take hold of the stand of pipe, the slips which heretofore have been holding the pipe string, to which the new stand is being made up in the borehole, would be released and the elevators would come down in the derrick in accordance with conventional operations of going back into the hole.

The present invention may be employed in conjunction with a grab hook in the upper portion of a derrick such as described in the Stone applications supra, but if desired the grab hook embodied in the apparatus of the present invention may be eliminated and the operations of moving the pipe from the plate to the elevated pipe rack conducted manually. It would be preferred, however, to use the complete apparatus of the present invention embodying the grab hook rather than conduct such tedious operation by manpower.

The nature and objects of the present invention having been completely described and illustrated, what I wish to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for handling vertical stands of pipe comprising, in combination, a carriage adapted for horizontal movement along a trackway arranged to be mounted on the floor of a derrick, said carriage defining with a first end a slotted opening; a housing mounted above said carriage and pivotally attached to said carriage at a second end thereof for vertical movement with respect to the first end of said carriage, said housing defining a slotted opening in correspondence with the slotted opening of said carriage; power means associated with said carriage and said housing for pivoting said housing upwardly; a first tonging means mounted on said carriage adapted to embrace a stand of pipe in said opening in said carriage to prevent rotation thereof; a second tonging means mounted on said housing adapted to embrace a stand of pipe in said opening in said housing to impart arcuate movement thereto with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof; a spinning means mounted on said housing adapted to rotate a stand of pipe positioned in the opening in said housing; and a slidable plate mounted on said carriage between said carriage and said housing adapted to be moved between said slotted openings along an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said carriage and under a stand of pipe for moving said stand horizontally into and out of said slotted openings.

2. A device for handling vertical stands of pipe comprising, in combination, a carriage adapted for horizontal movement along a trackway arranged to be mounted on the floor of a derrick, said carriage defining with a first end a slotted opening; a housing mounted above said carriage and pivotally attached to said carriage at a second end thereof for vertical movement with respeet to the first end of said carriage. said housing defining a slotted opening in correspondence with the slotted opening of said carriage; power means associated with said carriage and said housing for pivoting said housing upwardly; a first tonging means mounted on said carriage adapted to embrace a stand of pipe in said opening in said carriage to prevent rotation thereof; a second tonging means mounted on said housing adapted to embrace a stand of pipe in said opening in said housing to impart arcuate movement thereto with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof; a spinning means mounted on said housing adapted to rotate a stand of pipe positioned in the opening in said housing; a slidable plate mounted on said carriage between said carriage and said housing adapted to be moved between said slotted openings along an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said carriage and under a stand of pipe for moving said stand horizontally into and out of said slotted openings; and stopping means mounted on said carriage on a leading edge of the first end thereof for limitin the horizontal movement of said plate.

MARTIN E. TRUE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,300,995 Moody Apr. 15, 1919 1,478,020 Butler Dec. 18, 1923 2,405,757 Rowland Aug. 13, 1946 2,450,934 Calhoun Oct. 12, 1948 2,453,369 Grable et a1 Nov. 9, 1948 2,509,853 Wilson May 30, 1950 2,518,398 Stone Aug. 8, 1950 2,523,159 Stone Sept. 19, 1950 2,536,458 Munsinger Jan. 2, 1951 2,537,607 Stone Jan. 9, 1951 

